Neil Amaral ‘28 is a JD/Tax LLM candidate spending his summer at DIRECTV, the satellite television provider. He is leveraging his technological background as a support specialist and account executive at organizations like AT&T, ClickUp, ands more.
How did you land your summer job?
I found the internship application on 12twenty, and it was actually the very first job I applied to! The application was due weeks before fall grades were released, and the posting specified that grades would not be considered, so I knew I had to crush the interview. I took advantage of Career Development Office mock interviews and felt well-prepared going into the interview process. During my interviews, I highlighted my tech background and shared that I had worked at AT&T when they owned DIRECTV, which gave me first-hand experience selling their product.
What is the most interesting part of your job?
Everything! DIRECTV has a large and sophisticated in-house legal team that handles a wide range of topics, including content licensing, government affairs and regulations, tax controversy, data privacy, litigation, and corporate law. I’m encouraged to meet everyone on their legal team, learn about their roles, and take on work in any practice area that I find interesting. Every day I learn something new, and that process has been incredible.
What has been your most challenging assignment thus far?
My first assignment threw me into the deep-end by having me create an amended and restated (“A&R”) summary of an existing content distribution contract with a major sports league. An A&R involves starting with the original contract, reviewing each subsequent amendment to document the additions, deletions, and changes to the original terms, and creating a final restated document containing all the up-to-date terms that define the current contractual relationship.
It was meticulous work involving dozens of new concepts, but by the time I finished, I felt significantly more comfortable navigating contracts and amendments.
What new legal skill have you acquired during your summer job?
So far, I have further honed existing skills like issue spotting, memo writing, and legal research—but nothing I’ve done in school or work could have prepared me for reviewing contracts. I’m still working on learning all the techniques and best practices to efficiently assess contracts, proposals, and amendments to figure out what changes were made and how they impact the parties and their existing relationships.
What bit of legal knowledge have you been able to display?
Although I’m just beginning my Tax LLM journey, I was given the opportunity to research and report on the tax implications of a novel situation as part of a larger risk assessment research project. Having a basic understanding of federal income tax and knowing how to navigate the Internal Revenue Code has been a huge asset, allowing me to make a meaningful contribution to the project.
How has Loyola helped you map your career path?
Going into law school, I knew I wanted to practice some kind of transactional law, but I had no direction beyond that. As a 1L, I was able to explore areas I found interesting by taking the Intro to Income Taxation elective and joining the Business Law Society, Loyola Privacy Rights Association, and Intellectual Property & Cybersecurity Law Society. This led me to enroll in Loyola’s JD/Tax LLM program and the Corporate Concentration. It’s too early for me to commit to a specific area of law, but Loyola has helped me identify my areas of interest and begin honing the skills necessary to succeed in them.